McLaren took a deserved Constructors’ Championship to close out what has been a slow burner 2024 Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi.
It was a lights-to-flag victory for Lando Norris, coming off the back of dominating the timesheets in practice and qualifying in a win many will see as teeing up a renewed title battle with Max Verstappen in 2025.
Norris is likely to learn from his many mistakes that put him at a deficit to Verstappen this season, although there might be one inherent trait that Oscar Piastri is already ahead of him on that we saw at play during the first 200 metres of the season finale.
Piastri had a relatively decent start off the line, but Verstappen put Red Bull’s rocket starts to good use again when he got alongside the Australian on the run to Turn 1. Piastri did well to cover off the line, effectively pressuring Verstappen into a ‘If you try to overtake, we’ll crash’ move that is often a signature of F1 greats.
It was almost inevitable when they did collide, given that Verstappen’s driving has been under the spotlight for most of the season and will lead to a change in the overtaking guidelines used by the stewards when determining penalties.
George Russell highlighted how Verstappen had become a “bully” on track in his media frenzy leading up to the weekend, and Piastri’s defence demonstrated just how to stand up to Verstappen’s on-track behaviour.
Oscar Piastri shows that he has ruthlessness to beat Max Verstappen
It was almost unequivocal that Verstappen was in the wrong. He pushed his luck, and Piastri was cunning enough to stand his ground. His radio message after the contact was steely: “Well… that was the move of a champion.”
Put Norris in the same position and – as we have seen on several occasions in 2024 – you would have a different outcome.
When Norris tried to overtake Verstappen around the outside of Turn 12 at Austin, he gave the Dutchman too much space on the inside to commit to a manoeuvre exiting the corner. In Austria, Norris showed he could be pushed over easily by Verstappen when attempting a move on the outside of Turn 4; the Dutchman effectively ran him off the track.
Norris has lost out at the start of races because he’s not been aggressive enough and risked – or even caused – a crash with Verstappen. True championship rivals come to blows at some point on track because neither wants to concede a place on the same piece of tarmac, and yet Norris was often in press conferences reeling off what mistakes he’d made to lose out to Verstappen.
Piastri has demonstrated he has the ruthlessness needed to beat Verstappen on track, just as he did when he pulled off a three-wide move for the lead in Hungary. Piastri had no business sending it up the inside of Norris when he needed crucial points to close the gap to the Red Bull, worse still putting McLaren in a compromising position later in the race that was dealt with poorly.
The Australian did a good job of reminding everyone that if given a fast car and support from the team, a title in the early stages of his F1 career might just be plausible.
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It’s easy to see why people would look at Norris’ performance in Abu Dhabi and come to the conclusion that he was a shoe-in for the 2025 title.
Red Bull might still be dealing with the overhang from the problems faced with the RB20, and McLaren’s aerodynamics department is currently one of the most efficient on the grid. But Piastri has also put in dominant displays this year, notably his run to victory against Charles Leclerc in Azerbaijan.
The Baku street circuit is known for being a track where it is easy to make a mistake and find yourself down an escape road or wall, just as Leclerc did in 2019. While McLaren had the trick ‘Mini DRS’ wing to help Piastri, he still had to pile the pressure on Leclerc.
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Those 20 laps when he was behind felt like a prelude for what is to come from the Australian. Piastri hardly speaks on the radio to his engineer and during that race he barely said anything, whereas some drivers like a countdown on the gap or an update on lap times.
The Australian was very aware of the looming threat of Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, while also managing the tyres when he knew “clean air is king” in the McLaren.
Norris is undoubtedly a capable driver who will win more races in his F1 career, but Piastri’s performances are much more assured and contain far more attributes that you would naturally associate with a champion driver.
